Li Yun Alvarado's Blog

Poet, Parent, Puerto Rican! ¡Wepa!

Amplifying Puerto Rican and underrepresented voices while supporting aspiring & emerging writers through her writing, teaching, and advocacy.

Disclosure: This site contains affiliate links; if you make a purchase using my links, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work in this way!

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Comelibritos' Corner: Women's History Month!

3/8/2019

Picture Books: Women's History Month & International Women's Day!

Happy Women's History Month and International Women's Day (3/8)!

For this edition of Comelibritos' Corner (Little Bookworm's Corner), I've compiled picture books that celebrate extraordinary women for you to share with the littles in your life. Add some of these to your collection and enjoy them all year round!

The books below are organized in four categories:

Board Books Celebrating Extraordinary Women
Picture Books Celebrating Extraordinary Women
Picture Book (Auto)Biographies of Puerto Rican Women
More Picture Book (Auto)Biographies.

The titles with a (*) next to their names are books I own or have taken out of the library and can recommend first hand. The rest are titles I think sound interesting and I'm planning to check out myself soon.

Happy Reading! & ¡Que Vivan Las Mujeres!

I'm on a Podcast! Check it out!

2/20/2019

#Conceitednobodi Podcast Featuring Li Yun Alvarado

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW ON SOUNDCLOUD!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW ON iTUNES!

Image of a Facebook post announcing a new #conceitednobodi podcast episode. Image features a screenshot of liyunalvarado.com which has a picture of Li Yun Alvarado holding a copy of her poetry collection: Words or Water.

My brother Red1der is one of the founding members of #Conceitednobodi, a free-wheeling podcast where participants discuss current events, hip hop, politics, and more...

¡Feliz Día del Amor y La Amistad!

2/14/2019

Love Poems, Friendship & A Valentine's Day Gift for Writers!

I know SNL recently made fun of all the non romantic Valentine's Day greetings, and to be fair I thought the bit was pretty funny...

...but I still think Valentine's Day is better in América Latina...

New Poems: “Waiting for Cosmos,” “I Imagine Him Small,” and “Mammals”

1/27/2019

2019 Publication Updates: 3 Poems in Raising Mothers.

Last week my first publications of the year went live over at Raising Mothers, “an online literary journal for mothers of color that exists at the intersection of art, scholarship, and community.”

“Waiting for Cosmos”

“I Imagine Him Small”

“Mammals”

I’m honored to have my work featured in such an important journal and am especially excited about having these three poems published there. Read on to learn more about how these three came to be...

Let's Talk About Money, Baby

1/20/2019

Mamihood, Writing, and Money: Moving Past My Money Shame & Crafting a Creative Life I Love

Recently my friend, poet and scholar Raina J. León, had her essay "On Labor's Value" published in the VIDA Review.

In it, Raina asks: "When and for what should I be paid? And when I am not offered compensation, to what will I say no in favor of my family, my art, my life?"

A piggy bank and pen sitting on a notebook. The title reads:

For Raina (as for me and others I'm sure) so many of these questions -- which have always been there -- have taken on a new urgency since the birth of her child. Raina explains:

"How do I also negotiate between the labor maternal and the labor that takes me away from my son so that I can creatively express myself and also be compensated for that expression and thereby provide for my son? In short, how do I get paid and provide for my household for the labor that takes me away from my son?"

My question is: shouldn't we all be asking (and searching for answers to) those same questions alongside her?

2018: The Year I Fell For Audiobooks...

1/8/2019

Busy Book Nerds: It's Time to Embrace Audiobooks

If someone ever told me I'd be listening to books instead of reading them, I might have given them some serious side eye... until now!

An image of Michelle Obama's Audiobook Becoming on a cellphone plus headphones on a marble counter. Heading reads: Busy Book Nerds: It's Time To Embrace Audiobooks!

New Year Intentions: Looking Back & Ahead

12/27/2018

As the end of the year quickly approaches and I prepare to lead Write Your 2019 Into Existence: Seven Day Writing Life Roadmap Challenge for Women and Non-binary Writers, I’m also reflecting on my own 2018 and thinking of the intentions I plan to set for 2019.

Write Your 2019 Into Existence: Writing Life Roadmap Challenge

Whenever I’m thinking about intention setting and cultivating good habits for my writing life, I turn to two guest posts I wrote a few years back...

My Best Christmas Gift Ever... & Holiday Gifts for You!

12/18/2018

Whether Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Noche Buena, Christmas, Kwanza, New Years, Día de los Reyes, or Octavitas celebrations fill your calendar this Dec/Jan, it's the most busy (I mean wonderful) time of the year!

Growing up, our Christmas Day celebrations were complicated by one important factor... my red headed little brother is a Christmas Baby:

I can only imagine how awful it was for him to watch his bully of a big sister get presents on HIS birthday, but somehow he managed...

Ditch the Resolutions & Write Your 2019 Into Existence

12/13/2018

Write Your 2019 Into Existence: Seven Day Writing Life Roadmap Challenge for Women and Non-binary Writers

TL;DR: Write Your 2019 Into Existence: Seven Day Writing Life Roadmap Challenge for Women and Non-binary Writers

Sign up for a FREE seven day challenge to get your 2019 off on the right foot. Sign up by 12/31 (challenge starts by email on 1/6). SHARE with others who might be interested! Click the link above or the photo below to sign up today!

Write Your 2019 Into Existence: Seven Day Writing Life Roadmap Challenge for Women & Nonbinary Writers

Three years ago, I invited four phenomenal women to a new year intention setting workshop in my home.

I guided our group through activities that helped us all reflect on our 2015 and set our course for 2016.

We started the day off not knowing what to expect, and ended the day feeling a strong sense of community, purpose, and direction.

I dubbed 2016 my “Year of Procreation,” and — I kid you not — that same night, after the women had gone home, I took the pregnancy test that told my husband and me that we were expecting our first baby.

I’ve wanted to create the magic of that kind of deep reflection and intention setting in community every year since, but having a little one has made coordinating a little trickier...

December 2018 Newsletter: Don't Miss An Email!

12/4/2018

Subscribe to Li Yun's Newsletter!

¡Feliz Diciembre Familia!

I hope your November tasted as joyful as mine (Apple Pie & Coquito were on our menu)!

I have one MAJOR request for you today...

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Disclosure: This site contains affiliate links; if you make a purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.Thank you for supporting my work in this way!

Cover of the poetry collection, Words or Water. Features a black and white print of a woman with outlines of birds in her hair.

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